Iran on Tuesday rejected an offer by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to give asylum to an Iranian woman convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning, stating that the Brazilian president lacked sufficient information about the case.
"As far as we know, [President Lula] is a very humane and emotional person who probably has not received enough information about the case," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a news conference on Tuesday.
"What can be done is to let him know about the details of the case of this person who has committed a crime and has been convicted accordingly," Mehmanparast said, insisting that the woman in question was sentenced in accordance with Iranian law.
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was convicted in 2006 of having an "illicit relationship" with two men, and was initially sentenced to death by stoning. But her sentencing was suspended last month, pending a review after her case evoked an international outcry. She, however, could still be hanged.
Ashtiani, a mother of two who has already received received 99 lashes as a part of her sentence, had denied the accusations during her trial. She is reportedly being held in Tabriz prison.
Death by stoning is generally awarded in Iran to people who have committed adultery, which is a capital offense under Iran's strict Islamic law. Although stoning is not prescribed in the Koran, some Islamic scholars argue that it is in the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad.
According Amnesty International, some 10 convicted criminals were awaiting death by stoning in Iranian prisons. The group has urged the Iranian government to drop the punishment of death by stoning from its penal code.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry's response on Tuesday came after President Lula da Silva offered political asylum to Ashtiani in Brazil during a campaign rally for his party in southern Brazil on Saturday.
"I have to respect a country's laws, but if my friendship and regard I have for the president of Iran and the Iranian people is worth something, if this woman is causing discomfort, we could take her in in Brazil," Lula said Saturday.
Lula's offer came at time when his government was enjoying close relations with Teheran, and was recently involved in a joint effort with Turkey to mediate a compromise proposal aimed at resolving Iran's dispute with the West over its controversial nuclear program.
Though Iran insists that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful civilian power production purposes, the West suspects it a cover up for the Islamic country's nuclear weapon ambitions. The Islamic Republic has already survived several sets of sanctions imposed on it by the UN Security Council over its refusal to halt its nuclear development work.
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